Ever wondered what drives our purchasing decisions? Unravel the psychology behind consumer behavior, exploring the myriad factors that influence our choices. From social influence to personal preference, delve into the intriguing world of why we buy what we buy.
What’s at the root of modern American consumerism?
Marketers and advertisers have perfected tactics to convince us to purchase things, some of which we don’t need
- The more people spend, the better it is for everybody
- People want things because they want to keep up with the Joneses
- In an increasingly unequal society, people at the top are doing a lot of the consuming, while the bottom are left fighting for scraps
- Juliet Schor, a sociologist at Boston College, discusses the role of work, inequality, and social pressures in determining what people buy and when
- For many people, it’s about consuming to their social position
How has the role of women evolved in consumerism?
Women still dominate in certain kinds of purchases, and particularly the big ones.
- Black consumers are not that different from white consumers except for differences occasioned by structural racism and lower rates of Black homeownership
- Anti-consumerism and buy-nothing movements are growing in number and mainstream.
Work patterns are key to driving consumption
People make decisions about work, and the hours of work and the incomes associated with them are fixed with the decision.
- We are entering a moment where lots of people have been sitting at home for a year and a half, and there’s a lot of pent-up demand. Plenty of people I know are ready to spend.
Competitive Consumption
Increases in inequality trigger what I’ve called “competitive consumption,” [the idea that we spend because we’re comparing ourselves with our peers and what they’re spending].
- How are we competing with each other to consume?
- We have a society which is structured so that social esteem or value is connected to what we can consume.
- And so the inability to consume affects the kind of social value that we have.
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Consumption is not driven by advertising
Many of the things that people desperately want are not particularly advertised
- Instead, it is rooted in deep social logic
- It can be very rational and compelling for people to do something that in the end doesn’t necessarily make them all that better off but that failing to do requires really a major effort and going against the social grain
